Organization

Singer

Soprano

Krassimira Stoyanova

Aida

Tenor

Francesco Meli

Radames

Baritone

Quinn Kelsey

Amonasro

Bass

Georg Zeppenfeld

Ramfis

Alexandros Stavrakakis

The King of Egypt

Ambrogio Maestri

Andreas Bauer Kanabas

Mezzo-soprano

Anna Smirnova

Amneris

Jorge de León

Stefano La Colla

Conductor

Christian Thielemann

Stage director

Katharina Thalbach

Set designer

Ezio Toffolutti

Costume designer

Lighting designer

Fabio Antoci

Chorus master

André Kellinghaus

Choreographer

Christopher Tölle

Dramaturge

Johann Casimir Eule

Oksana Volkova

Simeon Esper

A messenger

Opheliya Pogosyan

A high priestess

Omer Meir Wellber

Maria José Siri

Leonardo Sini

Jorge Puerta

Christa Mayer

Andrzej Dobber

Alexey Markov

Tilmann Rönnebeck

Tijl Faveyts

Vitalij Kowaljow

Agnieszka Rehlis

Elena Stikhina

Christina Nilsson

Michael Kim

Semperoper Dresden

Others

Bach Choir Salzburg

Extrachor der Semperoper Dresden

Orchestra

Staatskapelle Dresden

Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden

Italian

Dresden

Germany

Semperoper

Semper Zwei

The exotic Nile, passion and pure emotion – these are the secrets to the success of Verdi’s opera Aida. Katharina Thalbach transforms his dramatic love story into an innovative, timely tale. As this is the director’s first collaboration with the conductor, Christian Thielemann, their production of Aida is also an artistic premiere.
The Semperoper’s new staging of Aida is an exciting debut right across the board. It marks the first collaboration between the Berlin actress and director, Katharina Thalbach, and the world-famous conductor, Christian Thielemann, for both of whom this four-act operatic tour de force is new terrain. Thalbach says the work made her feel like an archaeologist and that staging such a great human drama about the impossibility of choosing between love, passion, loyalty, and patriotic duty was a real challenge. In her interpretation of the work, the tragic love of Aida, an enslaved Ethiopian princess, and the Egyptian army general, Radames, reflects the critical situation of the modern individual. The opera is thus a plea for the utopian power of love.

Thalbach is a scion of one of Germany’s best-known families of actors, directors, and playwrights. She has put her versatility as a director to the test many times before. Whether it is Macbeth, her debut as a director, The Cunning Little Vixen, or a Don Giovanni that connected Mozart to Techno, her stagings are always imaginative and full of poetry and comedy.

As was to be expected, the Dresden Aida stars some of the world’s finest singers. The title role is sung by Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, who is joined by Francesco Meli as Radamès and Georg Zeppenfeld as Ramfis. The stage sets and costumes are the work of Ezio Toffolutti, who has previously worked for such big-name directors as Harry Kupfer and Nikolaus Lehnhoff.

Christmas Eve, 1871. In Cairo’s newly built opera house, the curtain rises on the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s »Aida«. This is a turning point in cultural history, when an occidental passion for exoticism and an oriental interest in European high culture come together to create great art. Very few works of opera have achieved such widespread popularity. And rightly so: with its thrilling musical effects, exotic sounds and tableaux, the colourful instrumentation and monumental scenes alternating with moments of great intimacy, »Aida« is a true musical and dramatic treasure trove. And that’s not all. Through the tragic love affair between the Ethiopian princess Aida and the Egyptian army commander Radamès, torn between the interests of state, church and family, Giuseppe Verdi reflects on the crisis-ridden plight of the modern individual, ending with a highly moving plea for the utopian power of love.

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